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The foundation trilogy

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The Foundation Trilogy THE FOUNDATION TRILOGY ISAAC ASIMOV Contents Introduction Foundation Foundation and Empire Second Foundation About the author THE STORY BEHIND THE "FOUNDATION" By ISAAC ASIMOVThe date was August 1, 1941. World War II had been raging for two years. France had fallen, the Battleof Britain had been fought, and the Soviet Union had just been invaded by Nazi Germany. The bombingof Pearl Harbor was four months in the future.But on that day, with Europe in flames, and the evil shadow of Adolf Hitler apparently falling over allthe world, what was chiefly on my mind was a meeting toward which I was hastening.I was 21 years old, a graduate student in chemistry at Columbia University, and I had been writingscience fiction professionally for three years. In that time, I had sold five stories to John Campbell,editor of Astounding, and the fifth story, "Nightfall," was about to appear in the September 1941 issue of file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (1 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation Trilogythe magazine. I had an appointment to see Mr. Campbell to tell him the plot of a new story I wasplanning to write, and the catch was that I had no plot in mind, not the trace of one.I therefore tried a device I sometimes use. I opened a book at random and set up free association,beginning with whatever I first saw. The book I had with me was a collection of the Gilbert and Sullivanplays. I happened to open it to the picture of the Fairy Queen of lolanthe throwing herself at the feet ofPrivate Willis. I thought of soldiers, of military empires, of the Roman Empire – of a Galactic Empire –aha!Why shouldnt I write of the fall of the Galactic Empire and of the return of feudalism, written from theviewpoint of someone in the secure days of the Second Galactic Empire? After all, I had read GibbonsDecline and Fall of the Roman Empire not once, but twice.I was bubbling over by the time I got to Campbells, and my enthusiasm must have been catching forCampbell blazed up as I had never seen him do. In the course of an hour we built up the notion of a vastseries of connected stories that were to deal in intricate detail with the thousand-year period between theFirst and Second Galactic Empires. This was to be illuminated by the science of psychohistory, whichCampbell and I thrashed out between us.On August 11, 1941, therefore, I began the story of that interregnum and called it "Foundation." In it, Idescribed how the psychohistorian, Hari Seldon, established a pair of Foundations at opposite ends ofthe Universe under such circumstances as to make sure that the forces of history would bring about thesecond Empire after one thousand years instead of the thirty thousand that would be required otherwise.The story was submitted on September 8 and, to make sure that Campbell really meant what he saidabout a series, I ended "Foundation" on a cliff-hanger. Thus, it seemed to me, he would be forced to buya second story.However, when I started the second story (on October 24), I found that I had outsmarted myself. Iquickly wrote myself into an impasse, and the Foundation series would have died an ignominious deathhad I not had a conversation with Fred Pohl on November 2 (on the Brooklyn Bridge, as it happened). Idont remember what Fred actually said, but, whatever it was, it pulled me out of the hole."Foundation" appeared in the May 1942 issue of Astounding and the succeeding story, "Bridle andSaddle," in the June 1942 issue.After that there was only the routine trouble of writing the stories. Through the remainder of the decade,John Campbell kept my nose to the grindstone and made sure he got additional Foundation stories."The Big and the Little" was in the August 1944 Astounding, "The Wedge" in the October 1944 issue,and "Dead Hand" in the April 1945 issue. (These stories were written while I was working at the NavyYard in Philadelphia.) file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (2 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation TrilogyOn January 26, 1945, I began "The Mule," my personal favorite among the Foundation stories, and thelongest yet, for it was 50,000 words. It was printed as a two-part serial (the very first serial I was everresponsible for) in the November and December 1945 issues. By the time the second part appeared I wasin the army.After I got out of the army, I wrote "Now You See It–" which appeared in the January 1948 issue. Bythis time, though, I had grown tired of the Foundation stories so I tried to end them by setting up, andsolving, the mystery of the location of the Second Foundation. Campbell would have none of that,however. He forced me to change the ending, and made me promise I would do one more Foundationstory.Well, Campbell was the kind of editor who could not be denied, so I wrote one more Foundation story,vowing to myself that it would be the last. I called it "–And Now You Dont," and it appeared as a three-part serial in the November 1949, December 1949, and January 1950 issues of Astounding.By then, I was on the biochemistry faculty of Boston University School of Medicine, my first book hadjust been published, and I was determined to move on to new things. I had spent eight years on theFoundation, written nine stories with a total of about 220,000 words. My total earnings for the seriescame to $3,641 and that seemed enough. The Foundation was over and done with, as far as I wasconcerned.In 1950, however, hardcover science fiction was just coming into existence. I had no objection toearning a little more money by having the Foundation series reprinted in book form. I offered the seriesto Doubleday (which had already published a science-fiction novel by me, and which had contracted foranother) and to Little-Brown, but both rejected it. In that year, though, a small publishing firm, GnomePress, was beginning to be active, and it was prepared to do the Foundation series as three books.The publisher of Gnome felt, however, that the series began too abruptly. He persuaded me to write asmall Foundation story, one that would serve as an introductory section to the first book (so that the firstpart of the Foundation series was the last written).In 1951, the Gnome Press edition of Foundation was published, containing the introduction and the firstfour stories of the series. In 1952, Foundation and Empire appeared, with the fifth and sixth stories; andin 1953, Second Foundation appeared, with the seventh and eighth stories. The three books togethercame to be called The Foundation Trilogy.The mere fact of the existence of the Trilogy pleased me, but Gnome Press did not have the financialclout or the publishing knowhow to get the books distributed properly, so that few copies were sold andfewer still paid me royalties. (Nowadays, copies of first editions of those Gnome Press books sell at $50a copy and up–but I still get no royalties from them.) file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (3 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation TrilogyAce Books did put out paperback editions of Foundation and of Foundation and Empire, but theychanged the titles, and used cut versions. Any money that was involved was paid to Gnome Press and Ididnt see much of that. In the first decade of the existence of The Foundation Trilogy it may haveearned something like $1500 total.And yet there was some foreign interest. In early 1961, Timothy Seldes, who was then my editor atDoubleday, told me that Doubleday had received a request for the Portuguese rights for the Foundationseries and, since they werent Doubleday books, he was passing them on to me. I sighed and said, "Theheck with it, Tim. I dont get royalties on those books."Seldes was horrified, and instantly set about getting the books away from Gnome Press so thatDoubleday could publish them instead. He paid no attention to my loudly expressed fears thatDoubleday "would lose its shirt on them." In August 1961 an agreement was reached and the Foundationbooks became Doubleday property. Whats more, Avon Books, which had published a paperbackversion of Second Foundation, set about obtaining the rights to all three from Doubleday, and put outnice editions.From that moment on, the Foundation books took off and began to earn increasing royalties. They havesold well and steadily, both in hardcover and softcover, for two decades so far. Increasingly, the letters Ireceived from the readers spoke of them in high praise. They received more attention than all my otherbooks put together.Doubleday also published an omnibus volume, The Foundation Trilogy, for its Science Fiction BookClub. That omnibus volume has been continuously featured by the Book Club for over twenty years.Matters reached a climax in 1966. The fans organizing the World Science Fiction Convention for thatyear (to be held in Cleveland) decided to award a Hugo for the best all-time series, where the series, toqualify, had to consist of at least three connected novels. It was the first time such a category had beenset up, nor has it been repeated since. The Foundation series was nominated, and I felt that was going tohave to be glory enough for me, since I was sure that Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings" would win.It didnt. The Foundation series won, and the Hugo I received for it has been sitting on my bookcase inthe livingroom ever since.In among all this litany of success, both in money and in fame, there was one annoying side-effect.Readers couldnt help but notice that the books of the Foundation series covered only three hundred-plusyears of the thousand-year hiatus between Empires. That meant the Foundation series "wasnt finished."I got innumerable letters from readers who asked me to finish it, from others who demanded I finish it,and still others who threatened dire vengeance if I didnt finish it. Worse yet, various editors atDoubleday over the years have pointed out that it might be wise to finish it.It was flattering, of course, but irritating as well. Years had passed, then decades. Back in the 1940s, I file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (4 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation Trilogyhad been in a Foundation-writing mood. Now I wasnt. Starting in the late 1950s, I had been in a moreand more nonfiction-writing mood.That didnt mean I was writing no fiction at all. In the 1960s and 1970s, in fact, I wrote two science-fiction novels and a mystery novel, to say nothing of well over a hundred short stories – but about eightypercent of what I wrote was nonfiction.One of the most indefatigable nags in the matter of finishing the Foundation series was my good friend,the great science-fiction writer, Lester del Rey. He was constantly telling me I ought to finish the seriesand was just as constantly suggesting plot devices. He even told Larry Ashmead, then my editor atDoubleday, that if I refused to write more Foundation stories, he, Lester, would be willing to take on thetask.When Ashmead mentioned this to me in 1973, I began another Foundation novel out of sheerdesperation. I called it "Lightning Rod" and managed to write fourteen pages before other tasks calledme away. The fourteen pages were put away and additional years passed.In January 1977, Cathleen Jordan, then my editor at Doubleday, suggested I do "an important book – aFoundation novel, perhaps." I said, "Id rather do an autobiography," and I did – 640,000 words of it.In January 1981, Doubleday apparently lost its temper. At least, Hugh ONeill, then my editor there,said, "Betty Prashker wants to see you," and marched me into her office. She was then one of the senioreditors, and a sweet and gentle person.She wasted no time. "Isaac," she said, "you are going to write a novel for us and you are going to sign acontract to that effect.""Betty," I said, "I am already working on a big science book for Doubleday and I have to revise theBiographical Encyclopedia for Doubleday and –""It can all wait," she said. "You are going to sign a contract to do a novel. Whats more, were going togive you a $50,000 advance."That was a stunner. I dont like large advances. They put me under too great an obligation. My averageadvance is something like $3,000. Why not? Its all out of royalties.I said, "Thats way too much money, Betty.""No, it isnt," she said."Doubleday will lose its shirt," I said. file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (5 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation Trilogy"You keep telling us that all the time. It wont."I said, desperately, "All right. Have the contract read that I dont get any money until I notify you inwriting that I have begun the novel.""Are you crazy?" she said. "Youll never start if that clause is in the contract. You get $25,000 onsigning the contract, and $25,000 on delivering a completed manuscript.""But suppose the novel is no good.""Now youre being silly," she said, and she ended the conversation.That night, Pat LoBrutto, the science-fiction editor at Doubleday called to express his pleasure. "Andremember," he said, "that when we say novel we mean science-fiction novel, not anything else. Andwhen we say science-fiction novel, we mean Foundation novel and not anything else."On February 5, 1981, I signed the contract, and within the week, the Doubleday accounting systemcranked out the check for $25,000.I moaned that I was not my own master anymore and Hugh ONeill said, cheerfully, "Thats right, andfrom now on, were going to call every other week and say, Wheres the manuscript?’" (But they didnt.They left me strictly alone, and never even asked for a progress report.)Nearly four months passed while I took care of a vast number of things I had to do, but about the end ofMay, I picked up my own copy of The Foundation Trilogy and began reading.I had to. For one thing, I hadnt read the Trilogy in thirty years and while I remembered the general plot,I did not remember the details. Besides, before beginning a new Foundation novel I had to immersemyself in the style and atmosphere of the series.I read it with mounting uneasiness. I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing ever did. Allthree volumes, all the nearly quarter of a million words, consisted of thoughts and of conversations. Noaction. No physical suspense.What was all the fuss about, then? Why did everyone want more of that stuff? – To be sure, I couldnthelp but notice that I was turning the pages eagerly, and that I was upset when I finished the book, andthat I wanted more, but I was the author, for goodness sake. You couldnt go by me.I was on the edge of deciding it was all a terrible mistake and of insisting on giving back the money,when (quite by accident, I swear) I came across some sentences by science-fiction writer and critic,James Gunn, who, in connection with the Foundation series, said, "Action and romance have little to do file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (6 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation Trilogywith the success of the Trilogy – virtually all the action takes place offstage, and the romance is almostinvisible – but the stories provide a detective-story fascination with the permutations and reversals ofideas."Oh, well, if what was needed were "permutations and reversals of ideas," then that I could supply. Panicreceded, and on June 10, 1981, I dug out the fourteen pages I had written more than eight years beforeand reread them. They sounded good to me. I didnt remember where I had been headed back then, but Ihad worked out what seemed to me to be a good ending now, and, starting page 15 on that day, Iproceeded to work toward the new ending.I found, to my infinite relief, that I had no trouble getting back into a "Foundation-mood," and, freshfrom my rereading, I had Foundation history at my finger-tips.There were differences, to be sure:1) The original stories were written for a science-fiction magazine and were from 7,000 to 50,000 wordslong, and no more. Consequently, each book in the trilogy had at least two stories and lacked unity. Iintended to make the new book a single story.2) I had a particularly good chance for development since Hugh said, "Let the book find its own length,Isaac. We dont mind a long book." So I planned on 140,000 words, which was nearly three times thelength of "The Mule," and this gave me plenty of elbow-room, and I could add all sorts of little touches.3) The Foundation series had been written at a time when our knowledge of astronomy was primitivecompared with what it is today. I could take advantage of that and at least mention black holes, forinstance. I could also take advantage of electronic computers, which had not been invented until I washalf through with the series.The novel progressed steadily, and on January 17, 1982, I began final copy. I brought the manuscript toHugh ONeill in batches, and the poor fellow went half-crazy since he insisted on reading it in thisbroken fashion. On March 25, 1982, I brought in the last bit, and the very next day got the second half ofthe advance.I had kept "Lightning Rod" as my working title all the way through, but Hugh finally said, "Is there anyway of putting Foundation into the title, Isaac?" I suggested Foundations at Bay, therefore, and thatmay be the title that will actually be used. *You will have noticed that I have said nothing about the plot of the new Foundation novel. Well,naturally. I would rather you buy and read the book.And yet there is one thing I have to confess to you. I generally manage to tie up all the loose ends intoone neat little bow-knot at the end of my stories, no matter how complicated the plot might be. In this file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (7 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation Trilogycase, however, I noticed that when I was all done, one glaring little item remained unresolved.I am hoping no one else notices it because it clearly points the way to the continuation of the series.It is even possible that I inadvertently gave this away for at the end of the novel, I wrote: "The End (fornow)."I very much fear that if the novel proves successful, Doubleday will be at my throat again, as Campbellused to be in the old days. And yet what can I do but hope that the novel is very successful indeed. Whata quandary!*Editors note: The novel was published in October 1982 as Foundations Edge. ABOUT THE AUTHORIsaac Asimov was born in the Soviet Union to his great surprise. He moved quickly to correct thesituation. When his parents emigrated to the United States, Isaac (three years old at the time) stowedaway in their baggage. He has been an American citizen since the age of eight.Brought up in Brooklyn, and educated in its public schools, he eventually found his way to ColumbiaUniversity and, over the protests of the school administration, managed to annex a series of degrees inchemistry, up to and including a Ph.D. He then infiltrated Boston University and climbed the academicladder, ignoring all cries of outrage, until he found himself Professor of Biochemistry.Meanwhile, at the age of nine, he found the love of his life (in the inanimate sense) when he discoveredhis first science-fiction magazine. By the time he was eleven, he began to write stories, and at eighteen,he actually worked up the nerve to submit one. It was rejected. After four long months of tribulation andsuffering, he sold his first story and, thereafter, he never looked back.In 1941, when he was twenty-one years old, he wrote the classic short story "Nightfall" and his futurewas assured. Shortly before that he had begun writing his robot stories, and shortly after that he hadbegun his Foundation series.What was left except quantity? At the present time, he has published over 260 books, distributed throughevery major division of the Dewey system of library classification, and shows no signs of slowing up.He remains as youthful, as lively, and as lovable as ever, and grows more handsome with each year. Youcan be sure that this is so since he has written this little essay himself and his devotion to absoluteobjectivity is notorious. file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (8 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM

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The Foundation TrilogyHe is married to Janet Jeppson, psychiatrist and writer, has two children by a previous marriage, andlives in New York City. file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%20Delilah/Desktop/Isaac%20Asimov/FoundationTrilogy.html (9 of 9)11/16/2005 12:11:44 PM